Finally, it's done.

[shyriann]

Title:   The Seven Virtues of Lisa Braeden
Rating:  R (swearing, sexual content)
Characters:  Dean/Lisa, Castiel
Length: 5500 words
Spoilers:  General through season 5, heavy for 5.22
Summary:  Coda for 5.22.  Castiel watches from between heaven and earth, checking in periodically on Dean.

Author's Note:  This is an honest attempt to resolve for myself

Comments

[maypoles]

This is gorgeous! So sad, but beautiful too. It read to me as a very realistic post-s5 scenario.

[shyriann]

Thank you. I was trying for realistic, and I'm glad it worked that way for you.

[saberivojo]

Oh man. Beautiful and breathless. A lovely, lovely look at Lisa. Canon for me now.

Also, can I just let you know...with all the porn available here, this is sexy personified without being crude. There is love and tenderness and heat and all that I love in sex scenes without the explicitness that is often in our fandom.

Refreshing and perfect. Thanks

[shyriann]

Well, I should probably admit, in the original draft of this story it was told from Lisa's point of view... and both sex scenes were far, far more graphic (though I tried very hard to stay away from smutty) But once I settled in with Cas as the narrator I realised that the scenes weren't about sensation, they were about emotion and beauty, so that's what I tried to emphasise. I really really hope that my imagined Lisa does turn out to be cannon. I just love her to pieces, and I'd love to see her have a continued part in Dean's life, even if from a distance.

[borgmama1of5]

Oh god, I am sobbing my heart out.

Not only did you envision a completely realistic scenario, but you wrote it with perfection.

Not often do I find a story that makes me slow down to savor the crystalline beauty of the way the words have been strung together while simultaneously triggering the "yes, this is what happened" reaction!

Setting this in Cas' POV was genius, makes the poetry of the observations just right. I love your Lisa, love that Cas sees her strength of being a mother transfers into strength she can use for Dean. I love that she sassed Bobby, and that she researched PTSD once she knew the whole story. And the end, when she just understood without recrimination that Dean had to go...

I am still weeping. One of the most affecting stories I have ever read in this fandom.

[shyriann]

Oh, god... to hear such praise from your lips. You are one of the people I was most hoping to impress with this fic, after the conversation you and I had a few months ago. I realised you were right, and I just had to figure out how Dean could manage to go on with life knowing that his brother was in hell. It would never be all right, but there had to be something that could give him a reason to live. After carefully studying the three episodes she was in for her reactions and personality, this is really how I see Lisa. She's strong and brave and has a genuine affection for Dean that could easily turn into love. I'm so glad the end worked for you. I wasn't sure if the message would come through clear enough, that she was smart enough to put together the pieces and knew exactly where Dean was going, that she didn't want him to leave, but knew he had to go, and that she knew he might not come back, but it wasn't really goodbye. I cried when I wrote it, but getting the story in my head translated into words is sometimes a daunting

[turquoisetumult]

Stunningly written. Just ... wow. Visceral and gorgeous and ... wow. Writing-wise, my favorite part's gotta be the description of the 2 ghosts and how you've made Sam the visible ghost and Dean the invisible one. The subversion there was just beautiful. And content-wise, my heart simply cracked when Dean figured out his heartbeat meant 2 minutes in Hell. Ouch.

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL. Spot-on characterizations, elegant writing, just wonderful!

[shyriann]

I'm glad you caught and liked the ghost subversion, I was worried that it might be too subtle to have any impact. I actually sat down and worked out the math on the Hell part, the original conversation was a bit longer, but it didn't work with the final story. I had to do the math three times to make sure it was right, because it just floored me when I came up with two minutes per heartbeat. In the first draft, Dean continued with the info that 30 seconds is an hour, Twelve minutes is a day, and three days is a year. But I thought it had more impact with just the two minutes part. I'm glad you did too.

[imaginethehappy]

wow.
This was entirely gorgeous. I am a HUGE fan of Lisa's and this was just...

THANK YOU

[shyriann]

You're very welcome. And that you for reading, and commenting.